about us
The concept of a “Polynesian cocktail” is somewhat of a misnomer. While most tropical drinks have names & imagery that seem reminiscent of Polynesia, most are actually Caribbean rum concoctions reinvented by American restaurateurs. One notable exception is the distinctive Dr. Funk, named after a German-born physician, Dr. Bernhard Funk, who spent 31 years in the South Pacific practicing medicine... & mixology!
In 1879, Dr. Bernhard Funk stepped on board a trading ship, bound for his new home – Samoa, the “Pearl of the South Seas.” He was reputedly the first medical practitioner in the Capital, Apia. Local residents considered Dr. Funk a long-awaited blessing & kindly greeted the arrival of a fully qualified physician & surgeon who was prepared to live & work in Apia.
Dr. Funk first achieved public notoriety soon after his arrival with his marriage to Leonora Hayes, daughter of the notorious American pirate, Captain Bully Hayes. The Captain’s own infamy had come about through his involvement in a whole range of activities that encompassed blackbirding, gun & alcohol running & alleged piracy. Funk’s marriage to Leonora only lasted six months & ended disastrously & quite publicly.
In spite of Funk’s initial calamitous marriage, by 1888, there was a new Mrs. Funk! He married a Samoan woman named Senitima, the daughter of Chief Talea. She was described by many as charming & delightful.
Dr. Funk also became friends with Treasure Island author, Robert Louis Stevenson & was his bedside doctor until his death in 1894. Stevenson wrote of him, “it would never do to quarrel with the doctor & the doctor, though he tipples a little & gabbles much, is a good man whom I respect.”
Dr. Funk was not only a skilled doctor, but also a mixologist in his own right. His medicinal tonic, originally prescribed to those plagued with the cafard, became a favorite libation among locals in the late 1800s & early 1900s... & is still drunk in the Pacific today!
His namesake cocktail will be on our menu alongside eleven original tiki tipples & nine classics.
“His own fame has spread not as a healer, but as a dram-decocter. From Samoa to Tihiti, ‘Dr. Funk!’
one hears in every club or bar.” —White Shadows in the South Seas, Frederick O’Brien, 1920
There are only a handful of photos of the great Dr. Bernhard Funk...
Dr. Funk in his early years.
Dr. Funk in his later years.
Dr. Funk & his wife, Senitima, at a wedding.
Dr. Funk's headstone in the Neubrandenburg Cemetery.